Bank protector



109. SAFES, BANK PROTECTION AND RELATED DEVICES.

March 8,192.?

.1. C, LUCAS BANK PROTECTOR Filed. Nov.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gn uewfot (Z616 aeaa (1M0: n at IUU- DHFLD, DHIJKI'HUILbIIUN AND RELATED DEVICES.

March 8 9 i c LUCAS BANK PROTECTOR Filed Nov. 26, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2lU-I'll oru Lo, Drmm rnUllZbllUN AND RELATED DEVICES.

Patented Mar. 8, 1927.

emar Parent orrice.

JOSEPH OLA'UD LUCAS, F BLANDINSVILLE, ILLINOIS.

BANK PROTECTOR.

Application filed. November 26, 1924. Serial No. 752,493.

This invention relates to devices for pro tecting cashiers and otheroflicials at the Windows of banks, and particularly to devices of thatcharacter in which there is a shield adapted to be shifted into positionin front of the cashiers or paying-tellers windows or any of the otherwindows in the bank cages whenever there is danger of an attempt beingmade to rob the official.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter which is very simple, which may be actuated by any ofiicial ofthe bank pressing a convenient button and which so operates that whenthis button is pressed a shield will drop down in front of the window,this shield bein bulletproof and being'made of one sheet of bulletproofmaterial. Q

A further object is to provide a device of this character which, whenthe shield drops, will cause the sounding of an alarm.

A still further object is to provide means to prevent the raising of theshield from the exterior of the window and to provide a shield which isof suflicient length as to entirely protect the official at the window,the partition wall separating the lobby of the bank from the oflicers ofthe bank being preferably made of steel or other bullet-proof materialfor a certain width so as to form a bullet-proof band protecting theofficials behind the partition.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figurel is an exterior elevation of a bank partition provided with myimprovements;

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the construction shown in Figure 1 andshowing diagrammatically the wiring whereby the various magnets areoperated;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2,showing the shield raised;

Figure 4C is a like view to Figure 3, showing the magnet energized andthe shield lowered;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 55 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary section showing the push button in the sill ofthe counter Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the circuit withinwhich the magnet 22 and the push buttons 27 and 28 are arranged.

Referring to these drawings, 10 designates the sill of a cashiers windowor the window of any other oficer such as the paying teller, bookkeeper,receiving teller or the like, and 11 the partition which extendsdownward from this sill. Above this partition 11 extends a partition 12which extends upward to the ceiling, the upper part of which partitionmay be made of grill-work 13 or be solid, as desired. That part of thepartition below the grill-work 13 down to the shelf or sill 10 ispreferably lined with a three-sixteenths of an inch steel plate 14. Thecashiers window is of the usual form but on the inside of this windowthere are provided guides 15, and sliding in these guides is arelatively heavy shield 16 which may be made also of three-sixteenths ofan inch thick steel plate. This window is provided with a handle 17 atits lower end. The window is supported by means of an angular latch 18which is pivoted upon a supporting bar 19 which extends across and isattached to the guides 15. This angular latch has an outwardlyprojecting arm which constitutes the armature of an electro-mag net, thedepending portion of this lever being formed at its lower end to providean inwardly projecting latch tooth 20. The weight of the arm 18 urgesthis latch tooth inward, and mounted upon the shield 16 is a keeper 21with which the latch tooth is adapted to engage. This keeper ispreferably beveled upwardly and inwardly upon its inner surface so thatwhen the window is shifted upward the latch will rise and slip over thekeeper and will then drop into place below the keeper, thus holding thisshield in its fully raised position.

Mounted upon a bracket carried by the frame in an suitable manner is anelectro magnet 22 having a hollow core 23, and operating within thishollow core 23 is a relatively heavy plunger 2a which has thecharacteristics of a solenoid which, when the coil is energized, will bedrawn up, thus relieving the weight which normally bears upon the arm 18and thus permitting the shield to drop. Under normal circumstances theweight of the plunger is borne by the arm 18 and, therefore, thedownwardly extending latch is forced inward into engagement with thekeeper and the shield-is supported. The extremity of the catch 20 isslightly beveled at 25 and the keeper 21 is so shallow that when thereis no weight upon this arm 18 the shield will drop, that is the keeperwill force the depending arm of the latch outward and as a consequencethere is nothing to support the shield.

The electro-magnet is connected in circuit with a battery 26 or anyother suitable source of electric energy, and this battery in turn isconnected to a floor button 27. Preferably there will be as many shieldsas there are openings in the partition between the lobby of the bank andthe cages or official quarters, and preferably all of theelectro-magnets 22 of these several windows will be connected in thesame circuit with the battery and with a series of push buttons locatedat various points as, for instance, adjacent the payingtellers cage, thereceiving-tellers cage, etc. Thus whenever any oflicial of the bank issuspicious of the actions of a person standing in front of his window hesimply depresses the most convenient push button, or anyone else maydepress a push button which is near to him, thus causing not only thedropping of the shield which is immediately in front of their own windowbut all of the shields in front of all the other windows. A burglaralarm might also be connected in this circuit so that when any one ofthe push buttons is depressed, the burglaralarm is sounded, andpreferably there will be a contact button 28 disposed on the sill 1Oimmediately beneath the shield so that when this shield descends it willstrike the contact button 28 and cause the closing of a circuit througha burglar alarm 29 in an obvious manner. Preferably also there will be aspring latch 30 on the sill 10 which will engage with the shield whenlowered so that when the shield drops, the latch will operate and theshield will be held in its lowered position against any efforts on thepart of those outside to lift it, thus fully protecting the bankoflicials.

It will be seen that this safety shield may be placed inside of the bankcage or railing or exterior to the bank cage and that full protection isafforded the bank employees and the funds by the bullet-proof steelplates disposed behind the partition 12 and between the various windowsof the bank. Thus when a window is dropped, a bulletproof shield isafforded around all bank cages and the funds. Obviously any number ofwindows can be installed and operated from several of the contactbuttons in the bank. Preferably the lower edge of the shield is slightlyrolled in order that no serious damage will be done to the hands ofemployees in case the shield should accidentally drop while the handsare outstretched. A rubber or other buffer might also be used on thelower edge of the shield. It will be seen that the shield is longer thanthe window so that when it is down it will extend above the opening ofthe window, thus thoroughly protecting the official standing behind thewindow, and it will further be noted that the steel lining to thepartition is of a width to reach even above the heads of the oflicialsbetween the windows, thereby making a complete steel screen between theoficials and the public.

Attention is called to the fact that this shield is formed of one pieceof material and will be relatively heavy so that as soon as it isreleased it will drop quickly, and furthermore as it is latched itcannot be lifted by the person attempting to rob the bank, and inasmuchas an alarm is sounded as soon as the shield has completely fallen thereis but little likelihood of the robber getting away.

I claim 1. In a bank, a partition having a window opening, guidesmounted on each side of the window opening, a shield mounted in theguides of the window opening, the shield being of bullet-proof substanceand having a length sufficient so that when the shield is dropped itwill entirely close the window opening, a latch normally holding saidshield in raised position and including an outwardly projecting leverarm, a keeper on the window with which the latch is adapted to engage, aweight normally resting upon said arm, an electro-rnagnet disposed abovethe arm and adapted when energized to lift said weight and permit theshield to lift the arm and move downward, and means for energizing theelectro-magnet including a circuit having a circuit closer therein.

2. In a construction of the character described, a structure having anopening, a shield adapted to close the opening and urged by gravitytoward its closed position, a latch normally holding said shield openand having an outwardly projecting lever arm, a keeper on the windowwith which the latch is adapted to engage, a weight normally restingupon the lever arm and holding the latch in engagement with the shield,an eleotro-magnet disposed above the weight and adapted to lift the samewhen energized to thereby permit the shield to escape the latch andclose, and means for energizing the ,electro-magnet including a circuitbreaker.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

JOSEPH GLAUD Lucas;

